Abstract
Microencapsulation is a rapidly evolving technology that allows preservation of various high-value, but unstable, compounds, such as polyphenols and volatiles. These components of chokeberry juice are reported to have various health-promoting properties. In the present study, hydrogel beads with alginate or alginate and pectin as wall materials and chokeberry juice as active agent were prepared using Encapsulator B-390. The effects of different compositions of wall material as well as the duration of complexation (30 or 90 min) with hardening solution on microencapsulation of chokeberry polyphenols and volatiles were investigated. Spectrophotometric and HPLC analyses showed that beads with pectin addition contained higher concentrations of polyphenols and anthocyanins compared to those prepared with alginate. Antioxidant activities evaluated with FRAP, CUPRAC, DPPH, and ABTS assays followed the same trend. Encapsulation of volatiles which were determined using GC-MS analysis also depended on the composition of hydrogel beads and in some cases on the time of complexation. Results of this study showed that the selection of the wall material is a relevant factor determining the preservation of polyphenols and volatiles. The incorporation of bioactive compounds in hydrogel beads opens up a wide range of possibilities for the development of functional and innovative foods.
Highlights
Microencapsulation is a process that has developed rapidly and is widely used in the food, cosmetics, and medical fields [1]
Chokeberry juice used for the preparation of hydrogel beads was evaluated
Results revealed that alginate hydrogel beads combined with the pectin addition contained higher concentrations of polyphenols compared to those prepared with only alginate, except for some of the individual polyphenols determined by the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method, which showed a slightly different trend
Summary
Microencapsulation is a process that has developed rapidly and is widely used in the food, cosmetics, and medical fields [1]. It enhances the stability of an active agent, allows its controlled release, and flavor masking. As polyphenols and volatiles have similar unstable properties, various encapsulation techniques are applied nowadays to achieve their preservation [2,3]. Different encapsulation techniques have been developed, such as physical (spray-drying, freeze-drying and electrospraying), chemical (molecular inclusion) and physicochemical methods (ionic gelation and coacervation) to improve the physical properties of bioactive compounds, prevent their degradation reactions, prolong their shelf-life, or provide a targeted release [5]. One of the commercially available encapsulators for the production of hydrogel beads is BÜCHI Encapsulator B-390
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